Making the decision to move to Hong Kong with small children may not be an easy one. An Asian mega city! Crowds, concrete and pollution come to mind. Well, the good thing is that once here it quickly becomes apparent that Hong Kong has so much to offer both kids and parents.

There’s little green in the city center, but lots of green outside! Nature is close by and easy ways to get there include numerous buses and inexpensive taxi. There are fantastic nature areas that offer shorter and longer hikes. Explore waterfalls, feed fish or monkeys, or barbeque at one of the many picnic areas. Some hikes are accessible with a stroller; you just have to know where to find them! The lush walk down from the Victoria Peak, via connecting pathways all the way to Tai Tam Country Park is a great exercise lasting a few hours and includes several great playground stops. Another South side favorite is an early morning stroll from Repulse Bay beach, along the waterfront over to the next bay, and finishing off with a stop at the small café.

During most of the year a number of large and small beaches are there for the grabbing. Great natural playgrounds and many times with nice food offerings and lifeguards available. Enjoy the tranquil South Bay beach with clean water and a nice shade in the mornings or active Shek-O beach with a family friendly Thai restaurant just nearby, both on the Hong Kong Island side. For the more adventurous, head north to Sai Kung Country Park and stroll on paved paths all the way to Sai Wan beach, now you are almost by the Chinese border.

Hong Kong’s large expatriate community means a lot of people move in and out. So you gain friends and lose friends more quickly than in many other places. As a newcomer it is in any case very easy to find playgroups for your kids and adult company for yourself. You can pick your composition of nationalities to either keep up your kids native language development and/or just meet people from all over the world. Meeting at each others places or during music, soccer or ballet classes, the weekly activity agenda is a surefire whirlwind! From young age and up your kids can also attend great (but costly) day care and pre schools in many locations.

You will by default bump into your parent friends at some of the better toys-foods-nursery stores and the larger malls. Shopping activities take a toll on young-and-old and luckily there is an abundance of restaurants and cafes to sit down and re-energize. However, finding the child friendly ones is not always easy. The new smoke ban in areas where children can come in contact with smoke is of course great, but has resulted in some restaurants banning families instead. Luckily there are a few gems that offer play areas and activities for the young while you can enjoy a calm meal out.

Getting around town with small kids is certainly not easy. You need to get used to taking escalators while somehow balancing your pram, nappy bag and recent purchases. Don’t take it personally if no one is helping you with the stroller up or down some of Hong Kong’s numerous stairs – it IS a busy city! But you can feel good about walking around and exploring all corners of town as Hong Kong is one of the safest cities in the world in terms of crime.

To summarize, Hong Kong is both large and small at the same time. Mostly being a warm place it does have seasons, lending itself to many and varying activities. Also being only hours away from so many fantastic and interesting Asian places to go visit, you will not regret living here, whether short or long term!